


Birthday

by SweetAshori



Category: Dr. STONE (Anime), Dr. STONE (Manga)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, F/M, Fluff, GenHaku, Kissing, Out of Character, Surprise Kissing, genkoha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:41:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25435570
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SweetAshori/pseuds/SweetAshori
Summary: Kohaku curiously asks Gen about birthdays from the modern world.
Relationships: Asagiri Gen & Kohaku, Asagiri Gen/Kohaku
Comments: 2
Kudos: 27





	Birthday

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I own no part of Dr. STONE. This is obvious, but hey, disclaimers are fun.
> 
> Authoress' Note: I hit a small snag with writing the next chapter of “Triangles”, and wanted to write something else in the meantime. This could be seen as a small divergence from the canon, since I know the war starts up sometime shortly after the end of the anime (and I hadn't read too far ahead in the manga yet), but I wanted to place this in the spring time, so this is kinda ignoring the idea of the upcoming war arc. Please enjoy!

“Hey Gen. What are birthdays really like?”

Gen Asagiri raised a thin brow at the question, “Huh? What an odd thing to ask about all of a sudden, Kohaku-chan.”

It was rare enough for there to be a day with little work in the Kingdom of Science, but it was rarer still for this particular pair of people – the bat bastard mentalist Gen and the gorilla huntress Kohaku – to be sitting together, resting in an open field, he sitting upon a large rock while she sat upon the hefty branch of a tree, enjoying the cool breeze and gentle sounds of nature. It started innocently enough: Gen had walked away from the main camp to avoid being dragged into laborious work due to someone's – namely Senku or old man Kaseki – boredom, while Kohaku was just tired and wanted to find a quiet place to rest, wearing herself out with mock battles with Kinro and Ginro most of the day. It was surprising to both of them when their eyes met in the clearing, but neither were entirely disturbed by the other's presence either. They were cordial with one another, expressing the same desire to want to relax for once away from the crowds, and so they both remained, sitting in comfortable silence up until this current moment.

Dark cerulean eyes looked up to meet sea-green orbs gazing down from their heavenly perch, “What brings on such an inquiry?”

Kohaku lightly shrugged her shoulders, “Just been thinking, that's all. When we made the observatory and telescope for Senku, it was for his birthday. But all of that seemed so... simple.”

“... Pray tell how any of that was actually simple?” he blanched at the mere thought of what they had all achieved to bring that huge surprise to life.

“I don't mean in terms of what we did!” she exclaimed, trying to quickly clarify her comments, “I mean... is that it? Surprising someone with a gift and wishing them well? Is that how birthdays were in the old world?”

Gen hummed, turning away with a small tilt of his head to his left, arms crossed over his chest and hiding within the sleeves of his long, violet over coat. “Well... yes, that is what they're mostly like, in simplest terms. However, there can be a lot more to it,” he replied, his tone a bit wispy and nostalgic.

Kohaku turned her body a bit more, turning from having legs crossed and stretched over the branch to sitting to the side of the appendage, hanging over it with one hand and upper arm resting against the main trunk, pushing herself off of the tree with a gentle amount of force, landing with grace onto her feet, hands bracing her fall a bit as well as helping to push her upright. Gen, admittedly, found her limber abilities to be rather amazing every time he had the opportunity to watch her, equating her to a gymnastics genius, albeit with the sharp teeth and strength of a beast. The latter comment, however, he was very smart to keep to himself, not desiring to be on the receiving end of one of her blades or her fist any more than he already experienced already.

She walked over to his right side, sitting down upon the large rock next to him, one arm leaned back upon the stone with the other bent and resting on one bent knee, her chin laying in her palm with fingers curving around her chin and cheek. She looked particularly adorable with that curious flicker in her eyes and awaiting smile, the mentalist complimented in his head, but kept such thoughts only to himself, not sure what exactly she might do if he were to call her “cute”.

Breaking from the momentary reverie of the moment, Gen continued his explanation, “You see, many people would do these things called birthday parties. Essentially, it's a large gathering of people – friends and family, mostly – in one place, where they share well wishes with the birthday person, give them gifts, partake in sweet treats like cake and ice cream, and play party games for people to win little prizes and have fun with one another.”

Kohaku had to hide her urge to droll at the sound of “sweet treats”, remembering the delightfully sweet taste of the cotton candy, “Cake? Ice cream? A-and party games? Like what?”

“Oh, they were silly things. I recall the most common games were things such as the limbo and pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey. Oh, no real donkey gets hurt, mind you!”

“... What are those?” she asked, blinking in confusion at all of these new terms.

“Limbo is a game where two people hold a long stick up in the air and others would have to lean back and be able to get under the stick without any part of their body touching the stick,” he continued to explain, using his arms and body to visualize part of the game as he spoke, “And after every round of people that go under, the stick is lowered, so then you have to REALLY stretch and move to get underneath. If you touch the stick at all, you lose and are removed from the game, and so it ends when there's only one person left.”

Kohaku laughed, “That sounds too easy.”

Gen chuckled, waving one long finger at her, “You say that, but it's a very challenging game. Of course, for athletic people like you, I suppose it could pose little issue.”

She scoffed, smirking, bringing her free arm up to brush her bangs from her face, and he couldn't help but chuckle again, finding the vision of her prideful hair flip to be oh-so-perfectly her. Then he continued his tale, “Now, pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey is a game where an image of a donkey is taped onto the wall--”

“What is a donkey?”

He blinked, then let out a short, understanding sigh, “Ah... yes, I suppose that I should've explained that a bit earlier. Let's see...”

He looked around him before finally reaching up towards the tree, standing slightly on bare tip-toes to grasp and pull down a thin branch, clearing it of leaves, motioning for Kohaku to watch as, in the dirt patch beneath the rock, he attempted to draw the creature in question. Of course, Gen never billed himself as this type of artist, and he knew that his elementary drawing was nowhere indicative of the real thing, but it was merely a tool to explain, “This... well, it's the best effort I have to show you what a donkey is. Many times, they are used as creatures to haul cargo through places such as deserts and mountains, when it was too difficult for humans. However, there was a famous one in an old story that I believe inspired the game. He always lost his tail, and so it is up to his friends to find and reattach the tail.”

Kohaku scowled, making a loud and disgusted noise, “How can one lose their own tail? And how can one stand having it reattached every time they lose it?”

Gen sheepishly laughed, “Like I said, it was one from a story. It's not a real donkey. Real donkeys wouldn't lose their tails like that.”

She still groaned, brows furrowed with a twisted, revolting grimace upon her face. “So... this game is people reattaching the tail to the donkey?”

“Not to a real donkey! An image of one, with fake tails. Players are given one of the tails, are blindfolded and spun around, then they have to--”

“What!? How can one reattach a tail if blindfolded and dizzy!? That's just cruel!”

Once again, he blanched, trying to be patient with her, “It's not real, Kohaku-chan. It's just a game.”

“Hmph... a revolting game.”

She crossed her arms over her chest, cheeks puffing out in a disdained pout. The mentalist sighed, smiling despite his bout of aspiration; perhaps it'd be better to change the subject from this one. “A-anyway, such games and activities are usually for children. For adults, typically a celebration contains going out for a nice meal and drinks. Of course, there's still sweets and gifts! That's a staple of all birthdays that I know of,” he continued his explanation, placing the stick upon the ground near his feet, Kohaku losing her negative expression, once again perking up at the sound of sweet treats, “Adults also do party, but they usually go to places that were called clubs, where one would go with friends to drink alcohol and dance to a variety of music.”

Kohaku was familiar with music, remembering listening to the record left behind by the village founders, containing the final song of her ancestor Lillian Weinberg. Dance, however, was a bit of a new term, but she didn't pursue the idea of asking him about it. Perhaps it would end up being something cruel like the donkey game, and she didn't want to be more infuriated with the past world than she already was. Instead, she turned her question towards another aspect of the birthday celebration she was curious about: “So what sort of gifts are usually given for birthdays?”

Gen hummed, “Well... to be fair, there's a limitless amount of possibilities for gifts.”

She watched as he turned himself a little more towards her, using his fingers as he listed off the parts of his answer, “For children, often the gifts are things such as clothes, toys, books, and candy. Of course, this depended on the age of the child. We had trillions and trillions of options for little ones.”

The huntress blinked, a bit overwhelmed by the sound of those numbers, “Wow...”

“For adults, those options were also viable, but then you could get someone things such as alcohol. There's also the option to create something from scratch, like what we did with creating the observatory and the telescope. Money and gift certificates – things that we used to obtain what we wanted or needed, to put it simply – were options that practically everyone loved, although some looked down upon it--”

“Wait, why is that?”

“Because some would see it as a thoughless gift. You see, the point of such things were to show how much you know and care about a person. Such as what we did for our dear Senku. While, yes, money is always appreciated, it can be seen as “I don't really know much about you and what you'd like, so go get yourself something, my treat”, and that wasn't always well received.”

“Huh...”

Kohaku turned her gaze away, resting her chin upon folded hands on top of her bent knee, lips pursued as she mulled over all of the information. “Birthdays sound a bit hectic and frustrating, but also sound kinda fun too,” she muttered, “It's kinda too bad that such things were lost with the stone statues.”

“Yes, it is,” Gen replied, a bit of his own sadness mixed in before turning the tone into one with a splash of hope, “But... perhaps at some point, we can gain it back. Senku has been able to keep track of time so well, it's plausible that we can regain such a thing in the future.”

“Maybe for you.”

“Hmm?”

Ocean met dark cerulean once again, but this time there was a wave of upset in the waters. “None of us have any idea what our birthdays would be. We know Senku's, and certainly you know yours, but we don't have one. We go by the season of our birth,” she answered, “If you were born in spring, then each spring would mark one year in your life. That's all we've ever known. How can we celebrate our own birthdays if we have no idea what they'd be?”

He frowned, thinking about what she was saying, but then smirked, “Then we'd have to just give you one. A day you can call your birthday, in your season.”

She blinked again, before laughing at the solution, “Ha! I guess that works.”

Gen felt a small amount of relief in his chest, glad to see her smile versus the scowl she had. He didn't like seeing that look of disappointment upon her face over the thought of never being able to experience something he was once able to take advantage of, as odd as that sounded.

“So... what about you, Gen? What do you like to do for your birthday?”

For the briefest of moments, he was taken aback by the question, although it was more out of a surprise that she would want to inquire something more personal about him versus being a natural turning point in the conversation. Once again, he hummed, closing his eyes and tilting his head to one side, arms crossed over his chest as he thought about his answer.

“Well... most of my birthdays, I spent much of the time doing my work. However, if I did have a free moment, I would treat myself to something special. Usually a fancy meal, complimented with my favorite cola,” he responded, once again having that little bit of nostalgia wavering in his voice, “I've never been much for sweets, but I did enjoy a delicious piece of cheesecake with my meal. Usually ending the night relaxing with some music and a book before I went off to bed.”

“Huh... seems pretty boring, but also nice,” the huntress complimented, and he nodded.

“It was.”

“And what about gifts?”

“Oh, most of the time, it was just well-wishes or someone offering to pay my meal for me. Any sort of gifts other than that were few and far between, especially as I got older and became busier with my career.”

A furrowed brow and a sideways frown etched across Kohaku's face, “That sounds sad.”

“Hmm, perhaps. But I truly didn't mind. It was better than not having the day acknowledged at all.”

His answer didn't erase the look she was giving him. Lowering her leg and straightening out her form, she very subtly moved a bit closer to him, a move she wasn't entirely aware she was doing, nor did he realize it himself.

“What sort of gift would you want?”

“Hmm?”

“Like... if I could get you a birthday gift now, what would you want?”

Her arm straight and hand placed against the rock, her chin resting against the side of her shoulder, body very lightly leaned towards him, one brow raised as sea-green orbs lit with a curious fire waited for his answer. He was, again, taken aback by the sudden question but this time also by the look she was giving him. It was not often that the mentalist was thrown for a loop on what to do when it came to questions like this. However, it was within the question that brought a conundrum: what was something that _she_ could give him as a present? The things that he liked the most were either long gone or something that only people like Senku or Chrome could give him, not Kohaku. So what could he even tell her for an answer?

Then he smirked, coming up with an answer. “A kiss.”

She blinked, then blushed, pulling back with a loud “EHH?!”, and he had to do everything he could not to entirely lose himself with a bout of laughter.

… A battle he'd quickly lose, doubling over with arms wrapping around his stomach, the sound of his jovial laugh echoing across the trees, as she sat there with flabbergasted squeaks, trying her best to restrain herself from pummeling him into the ground. It was obvious that he was teasing her – mostly, Gen would correct her, if he had known this was her train of her thought – but for him to suggest such a thing... how dare he!? Eventually, she settled for pushing him off of the rock, him momentarily going “oof!” as he hit the dirt, but as soon as he saw her bright pink face, puffed out cheeks, and pouting lips, he started to laugh all over again, his sides hurting and eyes watering.

After a few moments, he steadied himself, throat now a bit sore from his laughter, standing up and brushing off his coat of dirt and wiping away the tears from his eyes. “Ah... I'm sorry, Kohaku-chan,” he got out, a bit breathless at first as he tried to stop from laughing entirely, “I couldn't resist myself, teasing you like that.”

“Th-that was a jerk thing to do!”

“Yes, it was. But my, my... your reaction was priceless!”

She groaned and pouted again, readying a fist to slam it into his head, telling him that he had to diffuse the situation rather quickly. “Sorry, sorry... But I suppose I was being slightly serious,” he remarked, hoping that perhaps him being a little bit honest with her and the effort of the statement itself would have her question what he meant.

Which it did, the brow raising and fist lowering, implying that she was all ears to listen to what he was trying to say. Raising one finger up in the hair, he went on, “You see, in your question, you asked me what _you_ could give me for a gift. Well, the things that I enjoy quite a lot either do not exist in this world or would be something that would require the assistance of our dear Senku or Chrome to make happen. Hence, it was difficult to formulate an answer for you based off of that question, as I didn't know what exactly to tell you based off of your words. And so, I went for an answer that – technically – fit your words, with a curiosity as to how you'd react to such a thing.”

She was not happy with his response, feeling as though he was teasing her more with the answer as he was with the initial suggestion, but it was still a reasonable answer, nevertheless. Putting her anger aside, she continued her pout, crossing one leg over the other, “Why would you even want such a thing anyway?”

He smirked again, “What man wouldn't want a kiss from a lovely lady for their birthday?”

Once again, he was teasing her, and started to laugh as she turned red hot, hitting him hard in the arm before turning away and pouting again, very tempted to leave but knowing that she brought a lot of this upon herself. He rubbed the injured appendage, certainly going to be seeing a bruise later, but it was worth it. He was thoroughly enjoying seeing Kohaku react in such amusing ways to what he had said and done today, thinking of it as a little bit of payback for all of the times she had terrorized him into submission by her violent prowess. A little bruise and dirt wasn't enough to really damper the day.

Kohaku, on the other hand, was understandably not as amused as he was, not enjoying all of the teasing and laughter at her expense. After all, she was merely just asking questions! Wanting to know more about the world before her time! How dare he tease her in such ways when she's merely trying to understand!? Then again, this was Gen she was talking to. The man who made a living off of teasing and tricking others. It shouldn't have been a surprise that, even in the span of casual conversation, he'd find some way to try and get under her skin. The bat bastard...

However, he wasn't the only one that could play such games. She chuckled at first, causing Gen to look at her with a curious gaze, then he harshly swallowed when she looked at him with lips curled into a feline grin and a glimmer of playful energy in her orbs. “E-eh, Kohaku-chan? What are you thinking about?” he asked, obviously not trusting that look of hers.

She chuckled again, standing up from the rock, while he had to take one small step back, the two of them within a few inches of each other that she could easily topple him if that was her plan. He flinched as one arm went out towards him, grasping at his coat, eyes reflexively closing as he braced for whatever she was going to do. However, what came was not any sort of pain as he initially thought, eyes opening wide as he felt the gentle push of her body against his, and the feeling of her lips pressed firmly against his own.

For the first time in awhile, he was left completely and totally breathless, his brain unable to come up with a single thing to do or say in the moment. His arms were at his sides, partly bent at the elbows, his entire form stiffened from the shock. Her eyes were shut completely, the fingers of one hand still wrapped in the purple coat while the other was resting against his chest, fingers together and straight as though she was using it namely for leverage. She seemed entirely relaxed while he could barely function. His heart was racing something fierce, becoming the only thing he could really hear. How-- Why-- What--??

The shock was passing, and with it, a break in the fog of his mind. A small smirk against her lips, a tiny bit of pressure returning, arms moving upward, hands cautiously wrapping around her upper arms, eyes closing once again. His chest was still pounding, but now he was able to hear other things besides it. The breeze, the rustle of the trees, her staggered breathing. He wondered, briefly, if her heart was beating as fast as his. It was, of course, but there was no way for him to know it, nor would she admit to it.

After what seemed like the longest of minutes, they parted ways, hands and bodies still close to one another although her grip on his coat was more relaxed than before, lips mirroring in the way they were momentarily agape, cheeks lit in a faint amaranth, oceans of blue meeting one another behind slowly opening lids, before they smiled and let out a small, meaningful laugh to break up the reverie of the moment.

She stopped laughing first, bringing one hand to brush back her bangs from her face, “Happy birthday, Gen. Even if it's not actually your birthday.”

A fraction of surprise flashed across Gen's face, before he cleverly smirked as he always had done before, a glimpse of his teeth coming through, “Thank you, Kohaku-chan.”

_**-end-** _


End file.
